During a ceremonial visit to Japan, as part of the annual Friendship Day held at Marine Corps Air Station, the US Navy made the first public presentation of the new AIM-174B very long-range air combat missile. The missile was loaded on an F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter aircraft of VFA-102 (Strike Fighter Squadron-102) of CVW-5 (Carrier Air Wing-5). This missile was declared operational in July 2024, in the wake of the “RIMPAC 2024” exercise. The AIM-174B or SM-6 ALC (Air Launched Configuration) first appeared in public in 2021 and has been undergoing continuous testing since then. The missile is a version of the RIM-176 Standard ERAM (Extended Range Active Missile) or SM-6 (Standard Missile-6) anti-aircraft missile.
The AIM-174B was developed under the LREW (Long-Range Engagement Weapon) program of the US Air Force and the US Navy, which aims to develop a new very long-range air-to-air missile. In order to reduce technical risk, the LREW program provides for the use of proven and in-service systems with new technologies where necessary. Further details about the performance of the SM-6 ALC are not known. However, the designation AIM-174B means that it is a development of the RIM-176B Standard ERAM (SM-6 Block.1A) missile, which achieves a maximum range of over 200 kilometers, with some sources reporting a maximum range of over 450 kilometers.
